Tag Archives: MBTI

Now they are one of the reasons I did realized about the position of my Introverted Sensing ( Si ) even more. So in an emotionally shocking way.

Before seeing these pictures and other post-earthquake pictures of Panar Laban, the visual image of Panar Laban in my mind is always an ethereal beauty surrounded with clouds and mist. That image are stored in my internal memory storehouse since my first arrival there, something related to Si. Si is a data-storage device like cognitive function. The storage and organisations of all sights, smells, sounds and sensory informations from the past are Si’s job and business. When people talks about Panar Laban and somewhere around Gunting Lagadan Hut, that image will be replaying in my mind as a reaction to it. Just like the first moment I see it. And the image resurfaced again in the same fashion when something else triggered the memory.

And my reaction to it is also visceral.

That is how Si functions in the third preferred function alias the Eternal Child/Puella Aeterna archetype.

When I saw these pictures above, I can’t help from comparing it with the nostalgic images from my memory. The comparison between the current reality and memory from the past filled me with sadness and so a brutally strong reminder of the frailty and non-infallible nature of worldly life that made me feel freezing- everything but Allah Taala must come to an end someday.

Only people with INFP and INTP preferences are having Si in Eternal Child/Puella Aeterna position… So ?

Immediately recognized this as the wooden stairway from Laban Rata to Gunting Lagadan Hut. I was here in March 1998. It is easy to appreciate the physical beauty along this way, somehow something quickly took over the joy and my mind started to dwell into other ideas rather than fully enjoying the beauty I met in present moment. Lack of in-the-moment focus made me missing the bird that was located on the tree until the mountain guide or someone else points it out.

In the previous post of my journey chronicles in embracing INFP as my best-fit type, I have mentioned that Introverted Sensation ( Si ) is the cognitive function that surprisingly lead me to my findings.

Now it’s the time to reveal another Jungian cognitive functions that confirms INFP as my best type.

It is Extraverted Sensation ( Se ), the opposite of Si.

Heidi Pribe of Thought Catalog describing Se in an easy way to understand :

“ Extroverted sensing is focused on taking in the world as it exists in the present moment. It is highly in tune with the sights, smells, sounds and general physical stimulus that surrounds it. Extroverted sensing lives and thrives in the moment, more so than any other function.”

In individual with INFP as their best type, Extraverted Sensation ( Se ) is located in the bottom 4 functions. It is located at the 7th position. Dr. John Beebe named and associating this position with an archetype named The Trickster.

There’re many version of trickster archetype in fictional stories are available to choose from. Somehow I prefer Reynard The Fox to be portrayed inside my post.

Here are an explaination from Eric B explaining about The Trickster from his website. Somehow, it gives me a dizziness bout just for digesting the meaning. However I am still putting it right here for some good reasons that are still unknown to myself.

“ Emotions connected with that of a bad child; either dealing with one, playing tricks and binding the ego, or then being one to get back at or rebel against the threat, will often come through the perspective. Where the Puer tells us what we want to hear, the Trickster tells us what we don’t want to hear! We feel “bound”, and then, in a rebellious fashion, try to turn the tables by using it for deceiving, double-binding, trapping others.”

To make it simple, The Trickster fools you to take something and perceive it as something else. And always influencing you in making rebellious children-like rushing decisions that not deserved to be taken seriously and you will regret later on if you follow it. Somehow, it is also brings a sense of humour. In the healthier manner, you can point out how or why someone or something is logically silly or appear like silly. On the other hand, on the social or professional settings, people can also use The Trickster to trip you as well or vice versa.

For INFP-preference individuals, that is means their experience with Se is getting distracted easily when having real-time, in the moment sensory experience. Either their mind wandering into the past or the future, while their physical body still staying in the moment presence. Or external stimulations is the main source that distracts their focus on something. Or always missing the details unless struggling to stay in focus while working on something that needs attention to details. Or maybe a strong tendency of experiencing pareidolia as a enjoyable way of laughing at themselves.

In my case, Se as The Trickster manifested in several ways. For example :

1. My trip to Mount Kinabalu in 1998 is one of the many moments that helped me to recognized how The Trickster manifests itself. How many times it was appeared as the distractions along my hiking journey. Still able to enjoy the beauty of nature but the focus was quickly get diverted into thoughts, nostalgias or day-dreamings. I missed to witness the existence of the near-dry Carson Falls, honestly, in that process. Or simply missed the sacrificing pool near St John’ Peak during the summit attack phase.

Somehow, at that moment Mount Kinabalu also under the influence of the worst El Nino phenomenon in Malaysian history, and most of the iconic plants and herbs were died, and I don’t mind of not seeing them all along the trail.

2. Ops, I used to have a laughable dressing/fashion sense. Many times I wore something that not flatter myself. I was appeared too old, too short or fat. Or appeared silly or boring. Or appeared meek and weak.

One of the factors I failed to win job interviews in the past is because my dressing sense was not impressing or appealing to the interviewers at all. I thought that by dressing like this and like that, I appeared as strong and as powerful job candidate. Somehow, in reality it was not. When I look back at those experience, yes they are simply laughable. I have no choice but to listen to the person who knows better about the style and colours that are in harmony to my natural appearance but not violating Muslims’ dressing code at the same time.

3. Having issue with proof-reading my own writing. Honestly I have to re-edit my blog posts or Facebook status or Facebook responses again and again, several times after straight away posting it online, because I tend to miss many typos and errors. I thought I have seen them all, but when I re-read my own posts online, I’m usually found typos or grammatical errors in it.

4. External stimuli is the main source of distraction when I’m going into creative process of writing something. From my own past experience, I can’t resist the external distractions when I went inside my inner world to get ideas and inspirations. When the distraction sources brought me out to the external world, my creative process got interrupted. Original ideas may either no longer staying just as it is or simply gone for good, when I returned again to the inner world of creativity. As a result, it leads to procrastinations or suspensions of working on creative writing material. Somehow, I am still okay with it most of the time because the new idea that came later on usually getting better than the original one.

5. Honestly I know that my Se is fooling around at me when I misidentified these images as something else at the first glance and it made me smiling or giggling at myself.

Unless I’m looking closely and meticulously at this picture, I’ll always perceive the sleeping cat and the orange as a fried egg !

By sharing this, hopefully I can help someone to understand how Se works as The Trickster.

Note : Dr Linda Berens from Linda Berens Institute give another view upon Beebe’s model. I understands Beebe’s model even better with her point of view, even though the model example that was used in the article below is INFJ-preference.

Honestly I want to write about this since 2015, somehow things not really falling into places when I started to write it. And so all the ideas still stays inside my heart and mind.

Suddenly this year, I have a hunch to write about INFP and loving-rain tendency again after reading an article written by Marko, an INFJ and a columnist in Introvert Spring website. I think fellow INFPs also want something similar but related to us for an enjoyable self-discovery reading, just like that INFJ-related article. So I’m willing to share my personal experience about loving rain.

Disclaimer : This is maybe not true to some INFPs, just a kind of sharing my personal experiences so that I can help the others to find their true type.

In my context, petrichor or the special fragrance that released by the soil during the first rainfall is the main reason I love rain. That special fresh fragrance penetrating my smelling sense, and few moments later I felt oddly disconnected from the reality. Travelling from here and now reality to another time-space named the beautiful past. I feel like I am that carefree little girl again, who enjoyed the freshness and the coolness of the surrounding air beside Persiaran Traulsen* after enduring an uncomfortably hot and humid mid-day. The sky was grey in colour and a bit darker than before, but to her it was always does not mean sadness and tragic. That little girl has learned from the previous rainy day experience, how is romantic and blithe looks like before learning and knowing the meaning of that two words, and connecting it with her personal experiences. By being her once more, I am forgetting the stressful things that made me feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated, so immersed in the joy as long as I can before being jolted to entire body when someone touching my shoulder or calling my name.

The smell of rainfall not only awakening the beautiful memories of enjoying rainfalls in my childhood but also rainfall-related beautiful memories happened in some other time in my past.

In Jungian 8-Cognitive Functions model concept, it is my Introverted Sensing (Si) function that was in action at that time. The sensory experience ( the smell of the rainfalls ) brought back emotional memories of the past that are filtered through the simple mind and heart of a child, as Ken Cerney have explained in his blog post.

Rainfall is not only a moment when I am immersed in the nostalgia of the past, but another essential clue that leads me to embrace INFP as my best-fit Jungian Type.

Honestly, I never taken official MBTI test. Online ‘MBTI’ tests always showing that I tend to have INFP preferences. Honestly, I have doubts and dispute about it many times. Sometimes I think I’m more an INFJ and sometimes I’m thinking that I’m more to ENFP.

But why I’m still thinking that INFP is my best true type and embrace it ?

I got the courage after reading and knowing Beebe’s 8 functions model approach to Type Dynamics that based on the work of Carl Jung. And so grateful to read materials that were written by Vicky Jo Varner and Ken Cerney- a man with INFP as his true type. And so, quickly recognizing the things that their wrote in my own personal tendencies.

Honestly, Intraverted Sensation ( Si ) is the function that surprisingly lead me to my findings. When I found out about this one, I started to see how the other functions appears in my life. And so far they are so true !

In the case of a person of with INFP true type, Si is located on the third function. In Beebe’s Jungian 8 Function model, the third function is called either Puer, Puella or Eternal Child. That is means my Si is ranked the third on Top 4 functions ( the 4 natural functions ).

“ Introverted Sensing isn’t simply about remembering something; it’s about recalling an experience in every way — actually re-living it as if it is happening again for the first time.”, Vicky Jo Varner explaining something significant about Si in her website infjorinfp.com. When Si is ranked the third in Top 4 functions, the recalling experience has an innocent, fresh and childlike quality. That is also means I have an emotional relief by enjoying the nostalgia of sweet memories, especially my childhood memories as an easiest way to retreat from stressful life trials.

This is very true in many cases, I’ll be glad to share several of them in this post :

Honestly I have a tendency of spending time dwelling on Memory Lane. That leads me to the tendency of enjoying telling tales from the past – writing it either in flashback technique or a la memoir. Some of the frequent followers of this blog or fellow members of certain Facebook groups will realized and noted this personal tendency from the content of my blog posts.

2. The tendency of visiting the same places frequently

I have this tendency and realized it simply by realizing that I still have a strong desire to re-hike Mount Kinabalu, even after the tragic earthquake that shook Sabah at June 5th 2015. By doing a re-hiking someday in the future, hopefully I can let my mind mesmerizing the sweet memories from previous hiking experience. Honestly, I have the same tendency during my first hiking in 1998. At that time, witnessing the beauty of it in when walking through the jungle and alpine rocks trail reminded me of my childhood dream that sparked after watching a documentary about Mount Kinabalu that was aired on TV Pendidikan.

It is not happened only to Mount Kinabalu but some other places including Tawau-my adopted hometown for 19 years.

The smell of rainfall or any sensory experiences in the present time awakening the beautiful memories either in my childhood or some other time in my past. I’ll not eleborate this because I’ll plan to develop a single blog post about INFP and the affiliations towards rainfalls in the future which are related to this.

4. It’s so hard to throw away old stuff.

Lets this picture telling the truth.

Some of you may have seen this on another blog post. For the newcomers, this is simply some of many memorabilias from my pasts that survived years of decluttering processes. They have age range from 20-25 years old or maybe older than that.

Honestly, I have difficulties of doing decluttering because of strong emotional attachments with old things that remind me of those good old days.

5. My frame of reference begin with yesterday then comparing with what had changed now.

I did realized about this when I have mini school reunions with my ex-classmates twice. When I saw my ex-classmates, I can’t help from comparing what I did saw just now with the mental images I have in my memory, and I feel an astonising wow with every findings.

Having Si as the third functions also means I am sensitive and aware that something is going on with my body, including my inner feelings/mood. It can appear as illness, allergies or pains.

For this blog post however I’ll not including the dark side of having Si as the third natural function even though I know how true it is. Anyone can have a further reading on all or any links that enclosed below to explore that ‘dark side’.

Doraemon’s Time Machine : This is a how Si or Introverted Sense as Puer, Puella or Eternal Child make sense to me.